


Waiting for the Last Goodbye

by owlmoose



Series: Pieces of Thedas [15]
Category: Dragon Age, Dragon Age: Awakening
Genre: F/M, Foreshadowing, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-31
Updated: 2012-10-31
Packaged: 2017-11-17 10:54:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/550786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlmoose/pseuds/owlmoose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Mother is dead and Amaranthine is saved, Aura comes to Vigil's Keep to have a few words with Justice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waiting for the Last Goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Defira, who requested Aura and Justice in the Awakening era.

Almost a week passed before anyone from the city of Amaranthine came to check on the situation at Vigil's Keep. No one could blame them for their absence, least of all the Warden-Commander and her team who had been with her when the darkspawn attacked, but still, when a group of soldiers and civilians led by Captain Garevel came into view, everyone paused in the backbreaking work of cleaning up the rubble left after the siege and let out a cheer. Even Anders, who had no particular ties to anyone in the city, felt his heart warming as the members of the militia and others saw their relatives walking through the gate and dropped whatever they were doing to greet them.

"Ahh." Sereda Aeducan, Warden-Commander of Amaranthine, glanced up at Anders and then echoed his thoughts. "That's a nice sight, isn't it?"

"I can't disagree," Anders favored her with a wicked grin. "But I bet you'd rather see a party from Denerim."

Sereda shrugged. "I sent word that the situation was under control; the king will get here when he can." She turned and nodded toward the arrivals from Amaranthine. "That visitor is of more interest to me at the moment."

Anders followed her gaze to where it fell on a blond woman, once young and pretty but now careworn, her eyes darting around the courtyard as if she were looking for someone. It took him a moment to place her. "Isn't that Kristoff's widow?"

"Yes. Aura." Sereda frowned. "I suspect she'll want to talk with Justice. I'd run interference, but I shouldn't keep Garevel waiting -- I'm sure he'll want to confer with Varel right away. And I suppose she has a right. Can you take her to him?"

"All right." Anders wanted to demur, but he couldn't think of a good reason -- all his patients in the infirmary were stable, and he wasn't much use for hauling stones around. "Do you know where he is?"

"On the ramparts, I think, helping some dwarf masons with their repairs." Sereda tossed a quick smile up at him. "Thanks, Anders."

Anders shrugged. "You can owe me one," he replied. "Good morning."

This last was directed to Aura, who had turned to approach them. She responded to him with a nod, and then turned to Sereda. "Greetings, Warden-Commander," she said. "I am pleased that you seem to be unharmed. And your Wardens, they are well?"

"All but one." Sereda's friendly smile dimmed, and Anders knew she was thinking of Velanna. He was hard pressed to think of the prickly Dalish's disappearance as a great loss, but Sereda hated to lose anyone. He supposed that was why she was the Warden-Commander and not him. "Thanks for asking. If you're looking for Justice, he's up on the ramparts. Anders will take you to him."

Aura folded her hands and lowered her eyes. "If it's not too much trouble..."

"Not at all," Anders said, bowing with a flourish. "Follow me."

He led her through the courtyard and up the stairs on the outside of the building, considered his options for idle conversation and discarded them all. What would he say? "Hi, sorry your city was almost destroyed. Hope I didn't accidentally set your house on fire while I was fighting the darkspawn. Too bad about your husband, but the Fade spirit possessing his corpse is a good fellow once you get to know him, if a trifle fixated on a few things." Rotten luck that he had been the one to draw this duty. If only Nathaniel had been standing next to the Commander instead of him. He was a noble, he'd spent a lifetime navigating difficult social situations. He'd have known what to do. Or Sigrun; at the very least, she could have cheered Aura up. Even Oghren... no, better for Anders to be the one than Oghren. He'd give himself at least that much credit.

So he stayed silent until they reached the ramparts; by the time they got there, the silence was at least as awkward as anything Anders might have tried to say. There was Justice, just as Sereda had said he would be, helping the dwarf team lift hunks of granite and move them back into position for repair. Anders raised his arm and waved. "Ho, Justice."

Justice set down the rock he was carrying and, after a word with the masons, walked over to them. "Anders," he said. "And Aura. What brings you to Vigil's Keep?"

"I wish to speak to you about..." Her voice trailed off and she looked over her shoulder at Anders, then back at Justice with a meaningful stare.

Justice's brow furrowed, showing the slight crease that indicated his puzzlement at human emotional reactions. "Yes? What is it?"

Anders cleared his throat. "I can, despite the rumors to the contrary, take a hint. Shall I just leave you, then?" He nodded to Justice and stepped away to the edge of the ramparts, looking over the grounds to see if anyone needed his assistance... but not really, because he had taken care to stay well within eavesdropping distance. Especially with the small hearing augmentation he had just cast on himself. So he leaned back and listened in, watching from a discrete corner of the wall.

"I wished to speak to you about the promise you made me," Aura said. "The darkspawn whose machinations caused the death of my husband. They are dead?"

"Yes," Justice replied. "We found their leader and dispatched her. They will not trouble this region again for some time."

Aura closed her eyes and exhaled, her shoulders slumping. "So it is true. Kristoff is avenged."

Justice nodded. "He is, my good woman. Along with the other Grey Wardens who were slaughtered here. Justice was served."

"So, then..." Aura reached out and took Justice's hand in both of hers, cradling it between her palms. "Will you let him go? And return him to me, as you promised?"

A look of surprise passed across Justice's face, and Anders sucked in a soft breath. From his gobsmacked expression, it seemed that this possibility had not occurred to him. "I..." The spirit hesitated. "I do not know if I can quit this body and still remain in the mortal realm. And there is still so much injustice here. I do not think it would be right, to leave with so many souls crying out for aid." His eyes turned upwards, in Anders's direction, and Anders felt an unexpected jolt of... not quite guilt. Expectations? The weight of a friend's disapproval? Whichever it was, his heart had skipped a beat, and not in a good way.

Aura shook her head, sadly. "There will always be injustice in this world, as long as there are still people alive. You could never bring justice to everyone who deserves it, not if you fought for a thousand years."

"That does not mean I should not try." Justice's voice had gained strength, and he squared his shoulders. "I am sorry, but for now I must decline. At least until I can find another solution."

Aura stepped back, her hands dropping to her sides. "But... you promised..."

"I promised only to avenge your husband. I said nothing of what I would do after that." 

Her eyes narrowed, and sparked with anger. "So, this is what justice means to you. You would keep a wife from mourning her lost love, and force a dead man's bones to walk the earth until you complete some impossible task. I should have known better than to trust you. Goodbye."

"Aura..." But she was already turning away, back rigid, face carved of stone. Anders considered offering to walk her back, but the look she gave him as she passed was not inviting. Instead, he hopped down from his perch on the wall and joined Justice, whose eyes had not left Aura's back.

For at least a minute, the only sounds were the shouts and grunts of workmen. "I wish I could make her understand," Justice finally said. "How can I go back to the Fade when there is so much yet to be seen in the world? So many injustices to correct?" He cast a pained look down at Anders. "And yet, a part of me wonders if she speaks the truth. Am I perpetuating an injustice on her, on Kristoff? Should this body not be allowed to rest?"

Anders shrugged. "Don't look at me. That's more theology than I'm equipped to deal with."

Justice sighed. "I wish I knew what was best. If only there were another way to find justice for the slaves, for the elves, for the mages."

Anders rested a hand on Justice's elbow, watching as Aura stalked through the courtyard, brushing off the queries of the Commander. "I'm sure you'll think of something."


End file.
